Learning in the Car

In early childhood, every moment counts! Providing opportunities for children to be exposed to oral language, especially in the forms of high quality songs, stories, and fingerplays will help them in their future reading and writing success. Since young children spend so much time in the car, consider investing in CDs that emphasize these language strategies.

-play rhyming, quality children's music (e.g., Raffi) that use rhyme, play on words, and rhythm in songs

-expose children to nursery rhymes by playing them in the car (knowledge of nursery rhymes has been proven to be an indicator of reading success later on in life)

-encourage children to learn the names of letters and their corresponding sounds by playing CDs that emphasize these

-simple recorded stories can be borrowed from the library and played. By not seeing a corresponding picture, children are free to use their imaginations to illustrate the text

-play sound games with children. Stretch out words by emphasizing their individual sounds and encourage children to guess what the word it (e.g., c-a-t is cat)

-play I spy but use sounds (e.g., I spy something that begins with an 'a' sound)

-engage your children in conversation in the car. Encourage them to describe their day by prompting them with higher-level questioning such as who, what, why, where, when, and how questions. Avoid yes/no responses that limit children's explanation

Nurturing Language in Babies and Toddlers

Good Morning America had an interesting segment this morning regarding how babies and toddlers learn language from their parents. Speaking baby-talk to young children, like when parents make silly noises, can cause delays in how speech and language is learned. The experts suggested the following for improving children's language development:

-pick up on your child's cues. If he or she expresses interest in something like a toy or object, immediately capitalize on this interest by first naming the object and then describing it (e.g., "That's a ball. Balls are round. That ball is red."

-name things in different ways in order to situate the noun in various contexts (e.g., "Those are fish in the tank. The fish swim in the water. Those orange fish move fast!")

-engage in 'motherease' speaking, where the natural rhythms and cadences of language can be expressed by lengthening the words in a sing-song approach to speaking. This differs from speaking in 'baby talk' where gibberish is used as language. (e.g., "Loook at the puuuuppy. Theeee puuuuppy is cute!"

-speak as much as possible to your children, even before they are able to respond. Expose your children to as much oral language as possible. Name things for them when in the grocery store (e.g., Those are cans of food. The broccoli is green.") or during diaper changes (e.g., "Here are your toes! Here is your tummy!")

-young children love looking at human faces. When speaking to your child, try and have your face close to theirs so they can see your expression and how your mouth moves when speaking

-read a variety of stories to your children. Aim for at least one book a day. Reading allows a parent to alter their voice to match situations and characters in the story. Young children love hearing this variation in language.

-enlist the help of older children and family members who can engage your baby or toddler in conversation when you are unable to do so